Prior audio-visual presentations have included placement of subtitles (U.S. Pat. No. 3,199,115 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,097,349) or balloon-type legends (U.S. Pat. No. 1,240,774 and U.S. Pat. No. 2,524,276), all to assist in language interpretation of oral portions of the presentation.
While prior subtitles have from time to time coincided with the speaking of a single word in a different language, such occurrences have been haphazard, infrequent, and without a controlled pattern to accomplish specific association of a series sounds with a series of writings. Further, location of subtitle words have been remote from the pictorial action.
Prior art flash cards, each displaying a word, have attempted to teach reading through repetitive enforced and unnatural exercise. Although having some effect ultimately, the use of such cards requires longer periods of learning and the in-person presence of a literate tutor whether a mother or school teacher. Also such cards do not provide the strength of association that the present invention delivers by providing referents within a narrative audio-visual medium that has appeal to the student outside its literacy-teaching component.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,241,671 discloses presenting on a computer screen the text of any article with some words underlined and some not underlined. When the user selects a word from the text its definition appears in a window on the screen and an audio pronunciation of the word occurs. An audio sound icon may also be displayed.
Closed-captioned works provide separate areas or adjacent boxes where groupings of words are displayed. Closed-caption systems display groups of words along the bottom of the screen or at other remote locations away from the speakers or actors. Closed-caption words appear alongside, below or above the visual pictorial scene with a different background which background is usually white. The display of sign language symbols with audio-visuals to aid the deaf are also shown in separate adjacent boxes. These box display techniques may be intrusive to viewers.
Tutorial audio-visuals have been broadcast which include instructors facing the camera and speaking words with the corresponding written words being displayed in front of the speaker as spoken. Viewer-listeners tire of such tutorial formats and particularly, younger viewer-listeners lose interest in the subject matter being presented.